Shakespeare Club Performs A Midsummer Night's Dream at Gatelot Elemenatary

The Sachem North community has a largely unsung school organization – the Shakespeare Club. The club, run by Mike Klein, was started three years ago. It started out with very few members and has made great strides over the years -enough so that the club put on its very first scheduled performance last Thursday.

Performing for the second graders at Gatelot Elementary School, North students – ranging from freshmen to seniors – put on a short production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Actors from the club performed  as a narrator read from a picture book on the play.

The club spent three weeks preparing for the performance.

"From the beginning they expressed excitement at the opportunity not only to perform for the second-graders, but also to be responsible for bringing Shakespeare to an age group for whom he is brand new," said Mike Klein, the club's advisor and a teacher at Sachem North. "It is often thought that Shakespeare is too hard for even high school kids to understand, but our club demonstrated that Shakespeare is for everyone."

The club received laughs and applause from the second grade, all of whom seemed to be enthralled with the play. The attention span of the second graders seemed to widen as they watched the antics of Puck, Oberon, Hermia, Helena, Lysander, Demetrius, and the rest of the cast as they ran about in pursuit of love.  None of the children called out – except in laughter and applause – to disrupt the play.

At the end of the 20 minute play, the second graders posed with the cast. Several of the students were hesitant to ask questions, but many did and even more surprising was the assurance of the children that they, too, would join the Shakespeare club when they eventually attend Sachem North.

Perhaps it won't be an unsung club much longer with the stepping stone of Gatelot's second grade.